Showing results by author "Michael Morpurgo" in Growing Up & Facts of Life

When Michael is washed up on an island in the Pacific after falling from his parents’ yacht, he struggles to survive on his own. He can’t find food and he can’t find water, and as Michael and his dog curl up to sleep, he knows they cannot last long. But he soon realises there is someone close by, someone who is watching over him and helping him to stay alive.

There were dozens of us on the ship, all ages, boys and girls, and we were all up on deck for the leaving of Liverpool, gulls wheeling and crying over our heads, calling good-bye, I thought they were waving good-bye. None of us spoke. It was a grey day with drizzle in the air, the great sad cranes bowing to the ship from the docks as we steamed past. That is all I remember of England…

Olly's brother, Matt, has always wanted to be a clown, and when he sees the plight of Africa's children, he makes the decision to fly the family nest to take his skill to a place devoid of laughter. To his family, it is a travesty: this bright, intelligent boy with a glowing future ups and leaves to head into the unknown, leaving behind him a trail of worry and feelings of impending doom. Olly is charged with the care of a family of starlings that she and her brother have been watching over in the garden....

At the outbreak of World War 1, Joey, young Albert's beloved horse, is sold to the cavalry and shipped to France. He's soon caught up in enemy fire and fate takes him on an extraordinary odyssey, serving on both sides before finding himself alone in no man's land. But Albert cannot forget Joey and, still not old enough to enlist, he embarks on a treacherous mission to the trenches to find him and bring him home....

The long awaited new novel of identity, loss and the lingering effects of war, from master storyteller Michael Morpurgo, second biggest children’s author in the UK and bestselling author of War Horse, now a sold-out Broadway smash and an Oscar-nominated film. Michael doesn’t remember his father, who died in a Spitfire over the English Channel. And his mother, heartbroken and passionate, doesn’t like to talk about him. But then Michael’s aunt gives him a medal and a photograph, which begin to reveal a hidden story.

Billy was a champion soccer star, playing for Chelsea in the 1930s. But that was before war broke out! Billy the Kid is told through the voice of an 80-year-old man, who looks back on his life as Chelsea's champion striker until the outbreak of war in 1939 and on through his subsequent life. Billy joins Chelsea as a football apprentice and rises through the reserves to become a real champion.

It was Benjamin Postlethwaite's job all his long life to make sure the light shone brightly high up in the lighthouse on Puffin Island. Not once, in all his years as the lighthouse keeper, had he ever let his light go out. But sometimes even the brightest light on a lighthouse cannot save a ship. This is a story of a life-changing friendship, a lost puffin and a lonely artist. It's the story of an entire lifetime and how one event can change a life forever.

A stunning new classic from master storyteller Michael Morpurgo in the vein of Private Peaceful and The Butterfly Lion. This is a landmark new novel from the nation's favourite storyteller, set in the unique landscape of the Camargue in the South of France during WW2. There, a young autistic boy lives on his parents' farm among the salt flats and the flamingos that live there. There are lots of things he doesn't understand, but he does know how to heal animals.

War has forced Omar and his mother to leave their home in Afghanistan and venture across the sea to Europe. When their boat sinks, and Omar finds himself alone, with no hope of rescue, it seems as if his story has come to an end. But it is only just beginning. Because in the end, a little hope makes a big difference....

Michael Morpurgo's inspiring new story of Robbie, a boy in a coma – victim of a car accident. Locked inside his own head, able to hear but not move or speak, Robbie tries to keep himself from slipping ever deeper into unconsciousness.

Laura Perryman's family has always lived on Bryher. She lives with her twin brother, Billy, and her mother and father and her Granny May. Bryher is one of the Isles of Scilly. It's a very tiny island, and it is very hard work trying to scratch a living there. The sea feeds the people of Bryher. Billy, fourteen years old and bored with the unending milking routine, is feeling the strain. So, when the General Lee, bound for New York, calls at St. Mary's for repairs to the mizzen mast Billy secures his passage.

Australian Greek girl Nandi travels to her ancestors’ home in Ithaca, and discovers—through a friendship with an extremely unusual flying fish—the extraordinary story of her great-aunt, Elena; of how she fell in love, in the hardest of times, and how of how she became an unsung hero of World War Two. But Elena has gone missing, and Nandi has to find her. In her search, she will discover that Elena was an even greater hero than she thought—and still is....

Set on a farm in rural Devon, Farm Boy is a collection of Grandpa's reminiscences and stories, touchingly told to his grandson. Joey was the last working horse on the farm, and the apple of Grandpa's eye. In War Horse, Joey was sent away from the farm to be a warhorse in World War I. Grandpa had joined the cavalry in order to find, and fight, with Joey. Farm Boy brings us forward 50 years....

From master storyteller Michael Morpurgo comes "Friend or Foe". Evacuated from London, David and Tucky feel like the war is a long way away from their new life in the countryside. From master storyteller Michael Morpurgo comes "Friend or Foe". Evacuated from London, David and Tucky feel like the war is a long way away from their new life in the countryside.

After years of loss and sacrifice, the end of the war with Napoleon is approaching. Cobweb knows nothing of the war – he loves being a young puppy and playing with his owner, Bethan, exploring the countryside and chasing rabbits. But when he is taken away from Bethan and sold, Cobweb must learn to become a Drover’s Dog – herding sheep and cattle for hundreds of miles on the long, treacherous journey to London.

In Flanders' fields, young Martens knows his family's story, for it is as precious as the faded poem hanging in their home. From a poor girl comforting a grieving soldier, to an unexpected meeting of strangers, to a father's tragic death many decades after treaties were signed, war has shaped Martens's family in profound ways – it is their history as much as any nation's. They remember. They grieve. They honour the past.

This book was written at a time when foot-and-mouth was very much in the news, as farmers across the UK fell victim to an outbreak that was to leave potent images of blazing carcasses deeply embedded in many minds.

Robbie McLeod has the misfortune to be orphaned at a very young age and is brought up for a while by his heartless uncle. He is also born into a difficult age, being young and idealistic, in Scotland, at the time of the Jacobite Uprising in 1745. That's when Bonnie Prince Charlie came back to Scotland out of exile in France, to claim the throne which was rightfully his. The charismatic Prince swept through Scotland calling men to arms as he went, and Robbie joined them.

The perfect gift for all ages, Pinocchio as you’ve never seen him before: Telling his own story through the master storyteller and award-winning author of War Horse. “Now – there’s no point in pretending here – I was, and still am deep down, a puppet. Everyone knows Pinocchio is a puppet. I reckon I must be just about the most famous puppet the world has ever known. But the truth is I’m not just a puppet, I’m more than just bits of wood and string. I’m me. So I thought it was about time that I, Pinocchio, told you my story...”

There once was a little girl, born a princess. While she was still a young woman, she became a queen, our Queen Elizabeth. Now, 70 years later, her reign as the longest serving female monarch in history has seen her stand steadfast through triumph and tribulation, and through the monumental changes that have shaped our world. This remarkable queen has remained devoted to crown, to country...and a corgi or two!